Coming out with the Truth
by SabletKnight
Summary: Jaune talks to Weiss after the school dance, and comes clean about a few things. Mostly just written for the heck of it. I own nothing.


Jaune Arc was _not_ an idiot. Sure, he wasn't the brightest of bulbs at Beacon and he took a little longer to process everything around him, but once he understood, he never forgot it. Once he saw it, the image never left his mind. It danced around his vision, always in the corner of his eye, the forefront of his mind.

At first, he thought their gazes held only mirth and pity at how weak he seemed, how weak he was. Heck, he would be surprised if they didn't. Jaune was pretty pathetic when he first showed up for the entrance exams, and only after he ignored all that stupid machismo…stuff…running through his head, did he finally get the help he needed and start to improve. Maybe he had seen it before, the change in their eyes, but he realized what he was looking at only after word of the dance had started to spread.

It was longing, maybe love. The blonde teenager had to resist punching himself in the face once it clicked, but the girls around him were starting to give him the same look his mother gave his father, and vise-versa. If anything, having seven sisters should have prepared him for understanding the subtle language of "love", but it was just one of those things no one really knew. Jaune Arc, the blonde goofball of Beacon, had no better luck understanding it than anyone else.

Pyrrha and Ruby liking him made sense, they were his closest friends and they were the first to lend a helping hand whenever he was in trouble. Their gazes were also the first he noticed, if only because they spent the most time together. 'Champion', 'Prodigy', 'Fool'; These labels meant nothing between them, and they never would. He would never forget how Pyrrha gave him the strength and Ruby, the drive, he needed to fight on. If they hadn't helped him, he would have flunked out of Beacon ages ago. He only hoped he could one day repay them, for all they had done for him and all he had done for them.

Jaune and Yang had a similar relationship, bonding over family, and how the family they chose were just as important as the ones they didn't; JNPR and RWBY were as much a family to him as those he left behind in the countryside. Yang was an important part of her sister's life, and though her, Jaune's life as well. They found that they had a lot in common, particularly a shared love of clubbing, though Jaune wished he spent less time eating his foot at the bar and more time showing Yang up on the dance floor whenever they had a 'Blondes Night Out'. She was cool, relaxed, energetic, caring, violent; the list went on, but they always had fun hanging out.

Blake was more of a mystery, since they rarely talked to each other and their relationship was more nonverbal than anything. That wasn't to say they never did anything together, since they sometimes sat down and watched a cheesy movie or shared a corner of the library after lunch to read a couple books. When they did talk, the blonde was surprised to find quite the hellion hiding behind that bow; Blake seemed to be very reserved but she would not hesitate to fight for what she thought was right, nor would she fail to admit her own misgivings. Their relationship had started off with unsaid respect, for her unwavering loyalty to her team and stalwart defense of the downtrodden and his courage to stand up when no one else would. The first time they had spoken was right after he had pulled Cardin off of Velvet in the lunchroom and socked him in the jaw, when Blake simply said "I'm not sure how to feel about you getting to him first." It wasn't much of a conversation, but it was good to see that someone else cared.

On the other hand, Weiss…was simply Weiss. She didn't sneak peeks at him when she thought he wasn't looking or blushed anytime they were close. If anything, she was exasperated by his constant flirting, even if the two had found built at least a tentative friendship between his random bouts of idiocy and weakness. It would be strange if she did start to like him after all the embarrassing things he had done in his attempts at asking her out, but Weiss must have had the patience of a saint in order for her to deal with him so often. She was intelligent and graceful and strong, everything he wasn't. She didn't deserve someone like him and he wouldn't give up. It was unfair.

Jaune needed to put an end to this farce.

-\/\/\/-

"Weiss…"

It was at lunchtime that he finally found the courage to talk to her. Team JNPR and RWBY usually ate together during meals, and the dining halls were always filled with enough people to drown out any conversation in background chatter. Thankfully, Nora was regaling one of her insane dreams to the group and only Weiss was really close enough to him to actually hear him.

…though the hushed sigh and slight twitch of annoyance that ran across her face showed that perhaps she didn't want to. It almost made him back down. Almost. He simply swallowed his fear and waited, until she finally spoke.

"Spit it out, Arc. This better not another stupid pick-up line…" Weiss let the words dangle in the air for a bit, as threatening him should he oppose her. Jaune ignored it and pushed on.

"No! No, not at all. I just wanted to confe-" Her eyes narrowed at him once again "apologize. I wanted to apologize." He quickly uttered. Step one to staying alive was not making the heiress think that this was just another confession. It was more of an explanation.

Weiss relaxed a bit, her face showing more confusion than tension. She leaned forward, so the blonde boy knew he had her attention, for now. "Apologize for what exactly?"

"Weiss, I know that I haven't been acting appropriately since we started Beacon, with me basically hitting on you every couple of days…"

Weiss said nothing, politely waiting for him to finish even if she was starting to get the general idea.

"But I just wanted to say that it was unfair to you, to put you in the spotlight and basically force you to turn me down in front of everyone so often. It couldn't have been easy for you" His voice softened as he cast his eyes to the floor. "I should have taken a hint and given up."

"That's not... Jaune, I…" Weiss scrambled with her words, unsure what to say. Sure the blonde dunce was annoying at times, but Jaune had improved with time. During the dance he had gone out of his way to help her and Neptune, though he never said anything about it nor asked for anything in return. Now that she could call him a friend, she didn't want to see him so down, but the whole friends thing was still foreign to her sometimes. As a Schnee, she was uncertain what to do beside accept the apology and be done with it, but as a friend she could at least try to comfort him as well. "It's fine Jaune. I know you weren't trying to be a pest, and I can't blame you for trying to find someone. I'm just not the one you were looking for." Weiss calmly stated, with a small smile "This doesn't mean we can't be friends."

Jaune was quiet. He focused on the thoughts racing through his head, the sounds of the dining hall fading out. It was both a matter of saying the right thing and of telling the truth, neither being inclusive and requiring careful planning. "I would like that, but to be honest, Weiss, I wasn't chasing after you because I wanted a girlfriend," he replied. He could see confusion on her face again, as well as some anger and hurt flitting through her eyes. "I wanted an excuse, a lie to save me the trouble of telling others the truth."

The air was filled with pregnant silence as Weiss took in Jaune's strange declaration. It was so unlike him to even consider such a bizarre idea, let alone admit it. She slammed her hands on the table and fought the myriad of emotions swarming around in her head, but she remained seated. In a hushed tone, "What do you mean by that? Why would you do such a thing," she managed to hiss out in a hushed tone "and why are you telling me?"

Jaune signed. This was more what he expected, but at least he was prepared for it. "Weiss, above all, I need you to know that I never meant to hurt you or anything. This whole dumb mess was created because I was too afraid of disappointing my family. I am the only boy born to my family in the last few decades, and coming from a long line of heroes and nobles tends to place a lot of expectations and responsibility on your shoulders. Sometimes too much…"

Weiss slowly nodded, thinking back to her own family and the rigorous lifestyle she lived before Beacon. She hated disappointing them, and she understood going out one's way to make another proud, but she did not drop her glare. She wanted answers, and the least he could do is give her the whole story.

"I love my family, but my parents can be very traditional. Between me and my sisters, I'm probably the least impressive of the bunch, but still I'm expected to become the next Head of the Arc household and carry on the family name. Despite this, my family is very supportive and they always come around to check in on me every once in a while." He let out a big huff, but carried on.

"I flirted with you all the time because the next time one of them visits me, I don't want them to worry. Hearing that I, as weak as I was when I left them, training to become a hunter, fighting alongside my friends, even chasing after a girl I liked? Nothing would make them happier." His vision blurred a bit as he lost himself in memories of his sisters and parents. It had been a long time since he had seen any of them. Weiss was still waiting for an answer though, so Jaune shook himself out of it. "It sounds dumb, but these things matter to my family, and I want them to be happy."

"Why me then?" Weiss interjected. Sure, Jaune was lying to his family to make them happy, Weiss understood that, but why her specifically? "Why did you only chase after me, and not some other girl?"

"Weiss, I wasn't in love with you, but that didn't mean I didn't like you; I actually admire you. I chased after you because you are what I wish I could be: strong, smart, loyal, unwavering…" Gah! Enough flattery. "I know that I won't be able to carry on my family's name the way I am, but I still wanted to keep them happy. Making them think that I was in love with such a girl would help me do that." He finally dropped his gaze, a sad smile plastered on his face. "Again, I'm sorry about all of this. If it's okay, I would still like to be friends." Jaune looked back up, awaiting the heiress' next move. It was a lot to take in, but his heart only beat harder with each passing second as his anxiety built.

After a minute, He practically stood up and fled had the girl not grabbed his hand and pulled him back down. Weiss glared at him as if trying to bore a hole through his head, but after a deep breather she sat up and visibly relaxed. At last, she spoke. "Jaune, while I am disappointed that you did all this, lying to me and making a scene for no other reason than to start a rumor, I have decided that it doesn't matter. As of now, you have told me the truth and apologized, so as far as I am concerned, this matter is behind us. We clearly got off on the wrong foot, so why don't we just start over?" Weiss concluded. "Friends?"

Jaune looked at her outstretched hand, then back to Weiss. She was usually so formal in everything in did, and it was almost funny how she twitched as if resisting the casual motion itself. Hopefully Ruby would get right on that and help loosen the heiress up; she moved like a robot with rusted joints. Wiess' awkward gesture didn't stop him from taking her hand and giving it a few hearty shakes though. "Friends."

When the two released their hands, the school tower began to ring out. Their next class was coming up soon, so the two teams started gathering up their meals and heading towards the classrooms. Jaune was thankful that he had solved one of his problems so easily over a short meal, but Weiss stopped him once more before they all headed over to discard their leftovers.

"Jaune…one last question."

"Hmm?"

"If you wanted to find someone so that your family would not worry as much, why didn't you try looking somewhere else when I turned you down? I know that someone must be interested at this point…" Jaune froze, and Weiss could see his apprehension from the tension creeping into his body. And yet, all at one, he seemed to completely relax. Weiss could feel the eyes on their backs at this point, but she trusted that Jaune wouldn't try to lie this time if he didn't want to say anything.

"Now that I've stopped lying to you, Weiss, I don't want to start lying to someone else. I think I'll try being honest from the get go this time."

"What do you mean?"

Jaune paused, wondering whether or not to say anything. Finally, he turned around, locked eyes with Weiss and simply stated. "I'm gay. And its high time I stop pretending that it's a bad thing." He quickly turned back around and speedily walked towards the lecture halls, a smile on his face.

Back in the dining hall, the sound of several lunch trays and their contents splattering across the stone floors was only surpassed by the sound of their owner's surprised reactions. With this, Jaune knew that this was another problem solved.

 _Evenin'! Sablet here. I've a couple of ideas for stories bouncing around in my head for the past couple months, and I've just been working up the drive to sit down and write something coherent. Hopefully, this is the first of many I write. Also, this particular story was inspired by the comic "_ _I'm the Main Character of a Harem Manga, but I'm Gay So Every Day Is Hell for Me_ _", whose concept alone made me laugh, and it is dedicated to my friend Mitch._

 _On a side note, I wrote this in a couple hours and I would appreciate any feedback. I have at least two more fics I want to write for RWBY, and I am currently looking for a beta. You can pm me for more details._


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